Carrier/rack problems of the 2006 Chrysler Town & Country

While I was driving my spare tire broke loose and fell off lodging itself under my town and country Mini van. This brought my car to a halt with no warning brake lights. Cars had to swarm on the grass to avoid an accident. Luckily I was in a neighborhood. If I had been on the highway a lot of people may have died, it would have caused a pile up of cars. A tire should never be placed where it can fall off and cause a safety problem where lives are in jeopardy. Chrysler would not even put a new bracket to hold my spare tire. They should be so happy that no one was injured and willing to fix a dangerous problem at no charge to me. Right before that I took my car in and said to do a multipoint inspection because I was leaving to go out of town. I had a brake light out and 3 tires that needed air. They gave me the car back and said on paperwork the inspection was done. (if they had checked would they have seen my tire problem?) when I got on the highway my light said tires need air. I called and asked if they put air in my tires and they said yes. I took my car back to my neighbor and air had not put in the tires, had to go to an auto store and buy a light. Someone was in a hurry and signed off that they checked my car and sent me on my way to travel unprepared. Due to the lies of the service center in orlando that I went to and Chrysler unwilling to fix the spare tire problem, I will never buy another Chrysler and will make sure I let people know my experience. They said no one else had a tire fall off so they do not see it as an issue. So now it is on record, so if it happens to someone else and a life is lost, Chrysler does know of the potential problem.

While driving on the interstate I noticed a whine developing. At first I thought it to be a bearing in one of the pulleys. I took it to my mechanic and he said it was a power steering pump or the rack and pinon. I had the power steering flushed and refilled but it continues to have the whine. The mechanic told me it could be the rack and pinon. After reading the blogs online I have found that many are having the same problems. I have a 2006 Chrysler town and country touring with 88000 miles.

Our van started leaking several months ago and then recently it started making a whirring sound that increased with the engine rpm and when the wheels were turned. It also had a smell of something burning. I took the van to the Chrysler dealer we bought it from. They called to tell me that there were two separate leaks, the water pump and the power steering rack and both would need replacement. They also found the stabilizer links and bushings were worn out. Chrysler agreed to pay for parts but not labor. The van has 37k miles and the warranty had run out over the summer.